


these years are not kind to us, my dear

by innsjovide



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Aang (Avatar) Is A Good Parent, Dialogue Heavy, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Grief/Mourning, Introspection, Personal Growth, kind of. debatable
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-11 23:34:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29625717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/innsjovide/pseuds/innsjovide
Summary: It’s been 20 years since Avatar Aang died, and everybody is still thinking about it.
Relationships: Kya II & Tenzin (Avatar), Lin Beifong & Kya II, Lin Beifong & Tenzin, Lin Beifong/Kya II
Comments: 3
Kudos: 36





	these years are not kind to us, my dear

Lin could barely believe it had been twenty years since the passing of the only man she ever saw as a father. Twenty whole years and she had barely gotten used to thinking of the spunky, independent Southern Water Tribe girl as the Avatar instead of the kindhearted, gentle man who practically raised her. Tenzin had once said that Korra reminded him of her, and Lin didn’t know what to think of that. She didn’t know what to think of a lot of what Tenzin said. 

Air Temple Island was quiet, and Lin was thankful for that. While she loved Republic City and would defend it with every muscle in her body, she had to admit the city was often too busy for her to think. Lin often found herself wondering if that was why her mother had left, but she never liked thinking about her mother so the train of thought always ended there. Here, on an island so close to Republic City on a map but so far away in spirit, she could think clearly without being reminded of her childhood, at least not the parts that hurt. 

“Evening, Chief.” Kya’s voice came from behind her. Lin quickly turned around to face the waterbender, who was carrying two steaming cups of tea. “You better appreciate this, I had to blackmail Tenzin to tell me how you like it.”

Lin took the cup Kya handed to her and held it near her face. It was lemon and ginger, exactly the way she liked it. She wondered what Kya had blackmailed her brother with, but decided against asking about it. 

Kya leaned against the pavilion’s wooden support beams and looked out onto the ocean. The southern pavilion they were standing in was positioned in a part of the island where you couldn’t see the city itself, just the vast expanse of the ocean. Every airbender and acolyte Lin had met had said that the spot was ideal for meditation and detaching oneself from the chaos of city life. Lin had never tried it herself, but she would be lying if she said the thought didn’t intrigue her, at least in the slightest.

“It’s a nice evening.” Kya mused, taking a sip of her tea. “Real pretty sunset.”

Lin nodded, even though she was certain she was out of Kya’s line of sight. The sky was painted orange and pink as the sun set. It wasn’t often she saw sunsets like this anymore. “It’s going to be summer soon.” She thought out loud. Aang had died just as the seasons were turning. Late spring had always been Lin’s favorite time of year. 

Kya nodded, but uncharacteristically, stayed silent for quite some time. “Korra’s birthday is today, isn’t it?” The woman eventually asked.

Lin nodded again- she would have to work on not nodding when people couldn’t see her. “It is. I’m pretty sure she’s turning twenty today.” Of course, Lin knew for certain how old the Avatar was turning today, but she didn’t know how much Kya wanted to pursue the topic of conversation. She was still surprised that she even brought it up.

“Mhm…” Kya sighed. “Seems only yesterday she was five years old being taught her first waterbending forms. Time flies, doesn’t it?”

Lin often forgot that Kya had been among those raising the young Avatar, giving them an almost-familial connection. “How long has it been since you saw her?” Lin dared to ask. 

Kya shifted her posture slightly. “Two years, give or take. She’s with my mom, so she’s in good hands. I haven’t been to the south pole in quite some time.”

“Where have you been?” Lin asked before she could reason if it was a good choice to. 

“Oh, I don’t know.” Kya sighed. “Around. Here, there- here specifically for the past few months. Those new airbender recruits need a lot of patched up bruises on a pretty regular basis.”

“Including your brother?”

“Especially my brother.” Kya laughed. “He probably gets beat up more than any of them. It’s been getting better though. He’s been getting better.”

Lin sighed. She couldn’t comprehend having to learn bending at this age- regaining the control of her earthbending after losing it to Amon had been hard enough. “How’s your other brother?”

“What- Tenzin?” Kya sighed. “You know, he’s Tenzin. He’s happy about there being new airbenders and frustrated that they aren’t perfect all at once. I’m helping as much as I can, but it’s hard to read him and sometimes I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want me around.” She paused. “I’m pretty sure he misses Dad.”

Even though Lin had been anticipating the subject to come up, she was still caught off-guard by Kya’s direct acknowledgement of Aang. “I’m pretty sure we all do.”

“Mhm. Maybe we do.” For once, Lin couldn’t decipher what Kya meant. She had always known that Kya had a strained relationship with her father, but the topic hadn’t been brought up since they were teens, at least not around her. 

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” Lin sighed. 

“What do you mean?”

“Since we’ve been able to talk.” The last time they had seen each other was at Aang’s funeral, and even then they hadn’t exchanged words other than greetings and apologies. After that, Kya had returned to her home and Lin had returned to her job. She had spent the next seventeen-or-so years not thinking of Kya until Tenzin had mentioned that he was going to travel south to attend the Glacier Spirits festival with his family, including his sister. Soon after, things had gone the way they had until Lin was too preoccupied with saving lives to worry about reuniting with her old friend. It had been a rough few months. 

Kya hummed in thought- a trait she had picked up from her father. “It has, hasn’t it. When was the last time we talked?”

“About twenty years ago.” Lin replied, the words falling out of her mouth all too easily. “After your father died.”

“Must’ve been then, huh.” Kya said. “Must be fate that we reunite on this day.”

Lin knew that Kya believed in things like fate, yet another trait passed on from her father. Lin had always said that she didn’t, but the more she thought about it, the more she found it comforting- if for nothing else but to carry on Aang’s legacy in any way she could. Besides, the idea of a stable, set future was comforting in tumultuous times like these. 

“How’s your family, by the way?” Kya asked, as if she wanted to change the subject. 

Lin sighed, and found herself leaning on the same wooden railing Kya was, though she faced north- towards the temple ground and further out, the city. “They’ve been alright, as far as I can tell. Su has too many kids for my taste.”

“You never liked kids much, did you?” Kya mused. “Opal’s pretty nice. I don’t see her alot, because she’s a bit more careful than some of the airbenders, but whenever I do she’s pleasant about it. She talks alot about you.”

Lin hadn’t seen her niece in a while, and would be lying if she said she didn’t miss her. Opal was one of her only family members she could tolerate. Still, the news caught her off-guard. “Does she?”

“Yeah.” Kya nodded in affirmation. “I think she looks up to you a lot. Figures as such, being in her mother’s shadow all the time, that she’d look for role models elsewhere.”

Lin couldn’t help but agree. Despite what she always said, Suyin had inevitably fallen into the same trap their own mother did- they were better at being heroes than they were parents. Toph had created such an unreachable standard that she and Suyin had fallen apart trying to reach it, and Suyin had done the exact same thing. For the spirits sake, she had built an entire city! “Doesn’t surprise me.” Lin sighed. “Our mother wasn’t that good at being a parent. It would worry me more if Su was perfect at it.”

Kya laughed, though it seemed forced, or at least tired. “Can’t say it was any different for my family.”

“Really?” Lin asked. “It seems like you’ve settled all your grievances.”

“Yeah, but for a while things were pretty rough. After Tenzin got his arrows, we all kind of drifted apart. Bumi had his thing in the United Forces, Tenzin was busy being an airbender. I was off doing my own thing, mostly because I couldn’t stand it back home.” Kya took a sip of her tea. Lin followed, glad that it was somehow still warm. Kya continued. “You want to talk about parental pressure, try having the Avatar as a father.”

Lin nodded in the absence of anything to say. When she and Tenzin had dated, he would occasionally bring up the pressure he felt not only as the Avatar’s son, but as one of very few airbenders. After their relationship ended, Lin never paid it much mind. There was a new Avatar that looked to Tenzin as a mentor, there were new Airbenders now, he wouldn’t have to bear his burden alone. Lin found herself just now realizing that not only was he the only one to carry those scars, they went further than just skin deep. “I’m sorry.”

“Eh, it wasn’t all bad.” Kya sighed. “Whenever Mom would have a late shift at the hospital or an emergency to attend to, sometimes he would train me and Tenzin at the same time. Those were always the fun days.”

Lin smiled, remembering the rare occasions when she had been taught by Aang. They always stood out as bright memories among her childhood. “They were.”

“It’s been quite a while, hasn’t it?”

Lin turned to face the ocean with Kya, the very world expanding in front of them. The sky was now purple and blue as it settled into night. “It really has.” She sighed. “But at least we had the chance to talk.’

Kya hummed in agreement. “Yeah. I’m glad for that.”

**Author's Note:**

> I am a firm believer in the healing power of talking about things and drinking lemon-ginger tea.


End file.
